Don’t pray with the sole motive to get, get, GET. While there is no doubt that your prayers would be heard, you will not get the response you are seeking.

Our God seeks a relationship with you. It is His PRIMARY goal. It is the kind of relationship that begins with another verb… COME. His invitation is “COME to me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

R-E-L-A-X!

I want you to believe with me that God knows what you need, how you need it and when you need it, before you even needed it in the first place. Relax!

You are exactly where God wants you to be. He has predestined it (It is not an accident) and that place is within His reach. It is a place where He is The Master. Remember, our God is a God of miracles, God of the impossible. His word affirms to us, “With God, nothing is impossible.” (Mark 10:27)

Kung bigat na bigat ka na sa pasanin mo, sabi ng Panginoon, “Come to me. I will ease, relieve and refresh your soul. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am humble, gentle, meek and lowly. I am not harsh, hard, sharp and pressing.” (Matthew 11:29)

Relax. It doesn’t matter where you are right now. God sees you.

Kadalasan po, kapag tayo ay nananalangin, inuuna natin ang ating mga pangangailangan o personal needs. It is not wrong to pray for our needs. God knows how and why those needs are important to you. But if we make it the primary object of our prayer, then we value it more than we value our relationship with God.

Jesus models for us the way we need to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.

“Our Father, You are in heaven
Holy is Your name
Your kingdom come, Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sins against us
Do not lead us into temptation
But deliver us from evil. Amen.”

How should we pray in the midst of a financial disaster? Let’s use the verb COME as an acronym so we may remember:

Contrite heart. When you pray, realize who you are talking to. Realize that it is not God’s fault that you are in that tight financial situation. He did not cause it, nor did He create the mess. You did. Pray for His forgiveness. In authentic humility, seek His mercy and His grace. It’s the first thing to do. Read Psalms 51:17.

Open to correction. When you pray, seek His discipline. The Lord disciplines those He loves (Proverbs 3:11-12). God knows how important your need is, but He will not provide your need without the more important lesson to be learned. Lessons are His prerequisite. More than His aim to provide, He builds, develops and restores your relationship with Him.

Measure your steps. Be very cautious with your succeeding steps as you pray. Do not hurry. Wait for God. Wait for His perfect time. Remember Isaiah 40:31: “But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.”

Express your faith. Be active, do not give up, do not lose hope. Pray in faith that God can work in your financial distress. His ways, not yours. His plans, not yours. His goals, not yours. God will deliver you from any situation, however hard or impossible it is, and He will not let anything harm you.

One very bold way to express your faith is to GIVE. Remember the story about the widow’s offering? What a perfect resemblance to your financial situation! Let’s read together Mark 12:41-44:

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

I’m sure that the widow was well provided for by God. Would you agree? The Bible was unclear what happened to that widow, but my view of God tells me that she now wears a crown in the Lord’s presence.